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A great set of minimal design themes for WordPress.

Question: How do I choose an online portfolio layout? What do different layouts express about the designer? This website shows a number of Wordpress themes, and outlines the type of design work they are made for and the kind of feeling they present. Even if you didn't want to use Wordpress, I thought it would be useful to have examples of portfolios with different intentions. There are key words in the layout descriptions, like "elegant" or "artsy" that might tie in with the reading, which doesn't really say what these might look like. A few characteristics stood out to me. "Elegant" portfolio theme tended to have a simple, clean layout with understated backgrounds in neutral colors. The work showed well, but was often uninteresting because there was little wow factor. "Artsy" portfolio themes tended to be more colorful or include a decorative graphic elements, but the work was sometimes overwhelmed by the backgrounds. Work-focused themes tended to have dark backgrounds with a dimensionality to them, which makes the work almost "hung" in space. Text seemed a little awkward in these theme however, since they also "hung" above the background (perhaps if the image and text were in the same window above the background?). Photography had a layout reminding me of a magazine article, exciting and narrative, but more confusing if the information is complex. Some general comments while looking at sites: Some of the architectural portfolios tended toward neutral colors and crisp fonts, however, they often left little impression of who the designer IS, and what their approach is. Some of the graphic design portfolios were highly graphic and visually bold, but were a little "loud" and in the interest of being trendy or current, again left me wondering who the designer IS.

Likes: 1. The "box" theme correlates with the name of the org. and is a nice visual showcasing element for photos. 2. Icons at the top of the page take you down to the specific client section you clicked on, since it's a very long page to scroll 3. "Back to top" option is helpful, since the page is very long. Dislikes: 1. The descriptions of each client/project take a while to load (at top of page), so it's hard to understand what's going on until you've scrolled down and realized the top is an index, by which time the descriptions have loaded..... 2. There is no way to see larger images--only the thumbnails that appear in the box theme. 3. I think there needs to be more information (like an About section) about the company, as well as more information about the clients/projects being shown.

Likes: 1. Very simple, clean, and straight-forward as a web site - allows the photographs to take main stage. 2. Although pictures have no immediate headings, they are organized somewhat by colors/theme. The viewer understands where one project ends and another begins. 3. Understands that his artwork/name has credibility, and allows the photos to speak for themselves. 4. Links at bottom of the page give some indication of affiliation/interests without so many words. 5. Website theme colors coordinate with photos (cool colors dominate) - give the site a unified feel and look. Dislikes: 1. Although the simplicity of the site is a plus, there is absolutely no info about each photo taken. Although most of the pictures speak for themselves bc they're of celebrities/pop culture, not all viewers will know the info not provided. 2. A little more organization (or breaking up of the photos) would be nice. 3. Images when clicked are too big (need to scroll to see some full images); thumbnails are very tiny. No in-between.

three good things: scrolling images shows epicness diverse (event promotion, construction, blog and store) organic website theme three bad things: maybe almost too much information on the main page some really small images the website content only takes up 50% of page space (too much background)

Likes: - I love the loading bar. It pulls the whole theme of the website together SO well. - I like how the homepage has all the different color images. I think its really fun and is a good overall display of her work. - I like how there are no sublinks. I think it keeps the website really simple and easier to use. Dislikes: - I think the correspondence between the pictures and the links is a little confusing. You can see the links highlight when you click on the pictures, but its still a bit much. - I HATE the music. I think its so cheesy and distracting. - The navigation through the galleries is a little bit confusing because its hard to know how to get from image to image.

Likes: 1. theme is interesting. "Fresh Meat" -- but the imagery along with the text go together hand and hand. the "About" section explains the concept behind Fresh Meat- that it is the antithesis of stale- something a designer like Jonathan Patterson strives to be always. 2. in his contact section it shows his most recent tweets rom his twitter feed on the right panel as well as contact information on the left and a link to download his resume 3. background throughout website is dark, allowing the viewer to focus more on the pictures/windows of his portfolio 4. when you select a certain page within his links of the side panel, whatever page you were on last remains the page even if you select another section of his portfolio-- you don't have to scroll through all images to keep on the image you want to Dislikes: 1. wish there was a bigger picture in the home page of "Fresh Meat" -- hard to read the text on the sticker (although very clever, hard to read because it is too small of text) 2. would like to see a page with thumbnails of his work to more easily browse through his work

Likes: 1. layout is creative and colorful-- mexican themed, opening page is mexican objects and clothes on a line--beautiful 2. comments section allows viewer to comment-- allowing criticism to go from viewer straight to artist 3. portfolio is filled with lots of photography, many subjects, bright and colorful, it's hard to get bored looking at such vibrant imagery 4. at the bottom of the page, while viewing his photos, there is a sheet of film negatives that allow you to browse through thumbnails of the photos and select certain ones instead of having to go through the entire batch Dislikes: 1. for such an awesome website, he doesn't have any english translations, which is not to say that every other language should also be translated into an english version, however, if I didn't know any Spanish- like many many people around the world, I would be completely confused. 2. no biography, who is he? 3. no way to contact artist unless the viewer leaves his/her contact information first 4. in the "Links" section there are links to what looks like 5 different artists' sites, however, all lead to one photostream of a flickr account 5. for not having a biography, I think it's a little ridiculous to have an "Awards" section

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This is an adobe website that helps you create color palettes. Choose from 100s of user created palettes or create your own. You can even upload photos and create a palette from the colors in that photo.